A 22-year-old woman presents with recurrent episodes of diarrhea, crampy abdominal pain, and slight fever over the last 2 years. At first the episodes, which usually last 1 or 2 weeks, were several months apart, but recently they have occurred more frequently. Other symptoms have included mild joint pain and sometimes red skin lesions. On at least one occasion, her stool has been guaiac-positive, indicating the presence of occult blood. A colonoscopy was performed, which showed patchy sharply delineated areas with thickening of the bowel wall and mucosal ulceration. Areas adjacent to these lesions appear normal. Several biopsies were obtained and sent to pathology for evaluation.
List 5 causes of inflamed bowel.
What is the most likely diagnosis in this case?
What are the common complications of this disease?
Take a look at the images.
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